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Wednesday, 31 December 2014

Join me as I review my year – the exhibitions and places I have visited and the things I have blogged about – together with my favourite post each month. If you want to ensure you don’t miss any of my posts in 2015 and are the first to hear my news each month, please sign up to my monthly newsletter here.

January

The year started with some of the worst storms I can remember. The road across from where I live in Weymouth in Dorset to the nearby Isle of Portland was shut and Chesil Beach was reshaped by the ferocious waves. It prompted me to write about the Great Storm of 1824 which caused even greater damage, washing away Weymouth promenade.

Whilst in Yorkshire for a family funeral, I was able to visit Nostell Priory and admire the work of architect Robert Adam and furniture made by Thomas Chippendale. I visited the Georgians Revealed exhibition at the British Library and braved the cold to look round Georgian Leamington Spa.

I was invited to a bloggers’ event at the Queen’s Gallery in April and had the privilege of previewing the First Georgians exhibition. I researched the life of actress Mary Robinson who became the mistress of the future George IV and blogged about her.

Home-made wooden dolls that belonged to the young
Queen Victoria at the Royal Childhood exhibition
at Buckingham Palace

August

As well as plenty of visits to the Sealife Centre with my grandchildren, I also found time to visit a number of historical places: Haddon Hall, Osterley Park, Sudbury Hall and the National Trust Museum of Childhood (which the grandchildren loved), Kedleston Hall and Uppark.

A long overdue holiday in Derbyshire enabled me to visit Chatsworth, Eyam Hall and Lyme Park as well as go down a Blue John mine. Other visits included Kenwood and The Vyne and a visit to London to join Louise Allen in an event called Writing Historical Fiction the Westminster Way.

November did not go according to plan as we had water damage after a particularly violent storm leaving the house in a mess until we could get the roof fixed. I paid a fleeting visit to Kingston Lacy where the National Trust team were busy boxing up the outside ornaments to protect them during the winter closure.

The roof was finally repaired, a new ceiling put in and we just managed to get the decorating done in time for Christmas. A few days after Christmas, we took our daughter to a wedding in Alton and stopped off at Jane Austen's House in Chawton.

Mrs Fitzherbert from The Creevey Papers (1904);Jane Austen from A Memoir of Jane Austen by JE Austen Leigh (1871)William Pitt from Memoirs of George IV by R Huish (1830)Fanny Burney from Diary and letters of Madame D'Arblay (1846)

Monday, 29 December 2014

Here are 20 great historic places that I visited in 2014. If you want to have a go at identifying them from the photos, click here to take the quiz before going any further!

1.

Stourhead

Read more about Stourhead's beautiful landscaped gardens and the life of its owners, the Hoares of Hoare's bank, here.

2.

Osterley Park from the gardens

Osterley Park was remodelled by the architect Robert Adam and was the status symbol of Sir Francis Child.

3.

Saltram

When George III stayed in Weymouth in the summer of 1789, he made a western tour and stayed at Saltram. Read more about the Parkers of Saltram and their house here.

4.

Sudbury Hall

Sudbury Hall is home to the National Trust Museum of Childhood - a great family day out with interactive displays. You might recognise the interiors of the house which were used for Pemberley during the filming of the 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.

5.

Strawberry Hill

Horace Walpole's Gothic palace - Strawberry Hill in Middlesex - was as incredible as I had hoped it would be.

6.

Kenwood House

The newly restored Kenwood House was the home of Lord Mansfield and is under the care of English Heritage.

7.

Chatsworth

Chatsworth is the magnificent home of the Duke of Devonshire and was once home to the charismatic Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, a leading light in the Georgian ton. Read my guide to Chatsworth here and see a photo tour of Chatsworth here. Discover more about Georgiana here.

Uppark was ravaged by fire in 1989 but has been lovingly restored by the National Trust.

14.

Mount Edgcumbe

Just across the water from Plymouth, Mount Edgcumbe was the Tudor home of the Edgcumbe family and was devastated by bombing and fire during the Second World War. You can read more about Mount Edgcumbe here.

15.

Nostell Priory

Nostell Priory in Yorkshire boasts a large collection of Chippendale furniture as well as stunning interiors designed by Robert Adam. Read my guide to Nostell Priory here.

16.

Kedleston Hall

Kedleston Hall is another showplace for the architect Robert Adam. It was a major film location for The Duchess, starring Keira Knightley.

17.

Hatchlands

I visited Hatchlands on one of the hottest days of the year! It was the home of one of the bluestockings, Fanny Boscawen. Sadly her husband, Admiral Boscawen, died just two years after it was completed.

18.

Lyme Park

I have wanted to visit Lyme Park again for a long time and finally got my chance this autumn when we were staying in Derbyshire. The exterior of Lyme Park represented Pemberley in the 1995 BBC version of Pride and Prejudice. The view above awed Lizzy Bennet and I have to say that I can see why!

19.

The Vyne

Unfortunately this was the best photo of The Vyne that I could get as the outside was covered with scaffolding when I visited!

20.

Polesden Lacey

The Polesden Lacey estate was once leased by playwright and MP Richard Brinsley Sheridan. Mr and Mrs Greville transformed the house into an Edwardian showpiece where they entertained royalty. Read more about Polesden Lacey in my Regency History guide here.

Saturday, 27 December 2014

I have visited a huge number of historic properties in 2014, some of which I have already blogged about, and some of which are blogs waiting to happen! Here is my top twenty.

Can you name the places I have visited from the pictures below? If you need a few clues, there is a list of all the places below the pictures. Answers here.

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I started the year with a visit to Nostell Priory in Yorkshire with its exquisite Adam interiors, followed by a visit to Stourhead with its world famous landscaped gardens. My birthday treat was a visit to Arlington Court in Devon and the National Trust Carriage Museum, where I was particularly taken by a travelling carriage complete with the Georgian equivalent of a roof box!

A short break in Plymouth enabled me to follow in George III’s footsteps, visitingSaltram where he stayed in 1789, and Cotehele and Mount Edgcumbe, both of which the King visited during his stay.

My July travels took me to Surrey: Clandon Park where Frederick, Prince of Wales, dined in 1729; Hatchlands built for Admiral Boscawen and his bluestocking wife Fanny; and Polesden Lacey, the estate which was once leased by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. Later in the year I visited Uppark, restored from the devastation caused by fire in 1989, and The Vyne, once visited by Henry VIII.

Several of the places I visited this year have been used as film locations: Haddon Hall, repeatedly used as a film set for Jane Eyre; Sudbury Hall, where the internal shots of Pemberley in the 1995 BBC version of Pride and Prejudice were filmed and Lyme Park where the external shots were filmed; Kedleston Hall where part of The Duchess was filmed; and Chatsworth used in the 2005 film version of Pride and Prejudice.

I visited the magnificence of Horace Walpole’s Strawberry Hill; Osterley Park, the showplace of the Child family; and Kenwood House, once home to Lord Mansfield and his illegitimate great niece Dido, subject of the film Belle, as well as the more modest Eyam Hall in Derbyshire.